A new arrival...

Meet the newest addition to the Quirky Bean Family!

Baby Lynton is 8lbs 4oz of squishy loveable perfection! He ended up being 11 days over due so on the 1st of October at 7am I went in to be induced. My waters were broken at 8am and I was started on Oxytocin, I didn't have my first contraction until 11am. As the hours progressed I didn't and bub didn't look like he was going to make an appearance on his own. I stayed 3cm dilated through horrible irregular contractions until late afternoon, it was hard hearing that after so many hours of such irregular pain I hadn't gotten any closer to meeting our baby boy, I found I just couldn't cope any more on gas alone. It was just crushing, the little amount of control I felt I had went out the window and I ended up needing an epidural. For about an hour afterwards I was so exhausted and tried to sleep... guess what happened?! While I was dozing I dilated the remaining 7cms! I remember the midwives telling me to push then the obstetrician coming in...all she said was that baby needed some help coming and all of a sudden things started happening around me. Forceps, an episiotomy, internal stitches, a manual removal of the placenta and 800ml of blood loss later baby Lynton was finally born, put to my chest and oh my the world just stopped turning. Meeting our baby at 7.33pm was the most incredible experience of my life! A part of me is disappointed that I couldn't go into labour on my own, that I couldn't birth my child without needing all the drugs available to me, that when it came down to it I couldn't push effectively enough to bring him into the world on my own but I couldn't have planned for any of it to happen and there was nothing more important than our little guy's safe arrival. Of course then I was stuck in birthing suite until 5am the following morning because the epidural hadn't worn off until then, I was trundled off to a room and from then on our lives changed forever! It's now 11 days post birth and like all new parents we're stumbling our way through it all; even with all the troubles that come with learning to breastfeed, the sleepless nights, the worry we feel over every little hiccup and noise our baby makes, we are absolutely smitten with our son and really, we finally know that somehow everything will just be ok.

Now that he's here we're focused on our BIG move to the Northern Territory in 2 weeks time and somehow planning a trip to see my family before we leave, lots of huge changes are coming our way, lots of new experiences and I'm sure lots of new stresses but to be in our space again with our own routines and essentially having our own lives back everything we've been through up until now seems worth it. Adjusting will be the biggest step for me, and I'm terrified that my depression will sneak back but at the moment, taking it one day at a time is our best and only option.

Welcome to the world, my darling Baby Shmoogle Bean! 

The ripple stitch and a real bitch

I started this with odd balls from my stash way back before I even knew I was pregnant and only found it again at the beginning of last week... you ever have one of those 'found a project and have no idea what size hook I was using' moments? Yep that was me! I worked it out eventually... I found a photo here actually from when I'd first started it (click here for the post!) and ta da! The hook was in the photo *phew* Oh and in case you're wondering, I only ever got that one scarf made but I donated it all the same :o) I hope someone found it and loved it! Wow thinking back you really wonder where all that time went, I've been told pregnancies have a way of dragging but I'm finding it flying by! That might be because I feel so unprepared, I feel like I need a LOT longer to get everything sorted out but bub will come when he's ready whether I am or not :o)

I spent my weekend working on it, it was meant to be around the other way (horizontal ripples instead of vertical) but I only had the 6 balls to work with and ran out; it didn't matter in the end anyway it fits nicely the size that it is.

Today has been kinda crummy, had to have my glucose tolerance test today which involved a god-awful sugary beverage that tasted like Off! Bug Spray mixed with sugar and wait around in pathology for an hour to have blood taken. In that time I managed to make a small child cry by speaking to him (I'm gonna make a GREAT mum!). After getting home I then had to call the midwives clinic about something you don't want to know about and had a horrid experience with a bitchy-midwife-from-hell.... the way she spoke to me was bad enough but removing/replacing your knickers in front of this woman was absolutely one of the awkward moments of my life. She's a midwife! She looks at fannies all the time! What was so darn fascinating that she had to stare at me the whole time?!?!  Yeah, I know, I realise come birth I'll be half naked and surrounded by strangers but that's not the point.

But anyway... I've likely mentally scarred you now. Sorry about that!
Back to crochet..... Now I'm SURE I have another unfinished ripple blanket stuffed in a cupboard somewhere but I might just leave it there for the time being to be found and worked on another day! Oh and hey, if you did happen to read that post where I first started this project, you'll remember that lovely striped elf hat with the pom pom I'd made? Well it was absolutely perfect for the little fellow it was created for, wouldn't you agree? I sent it home with his parents as a gift :o)

 I am seriously freezing my metaphorical nuts off at the moment (could that midwife SEE my metaphorical nuts? Maybe that was what she was looking at)... it's currently 4 degrees Celsius outside and probably bloody close to that inside our apartment; the hubby, the fur balls and I are holed up in the bedroom trying to enjoy to last amounts of heat radiating from our pathetic little nearly-dead heater. Hunger is becoming a problem and I know we'll need to venture out into the kitchen to cook dinner soon. If I become an icicle and never write again, it's been nice knowing you!

Say g'day to Boris the Dragon/Dinosaur!

RAWR! Meet my adorable new little friend, Boris. I've always thought Boris is a good name for a reptile. I whipped him up last week as a toy for Baby Shmoogle Bean and I have to say I'm pretty darn proud of him! He's put together like a tank so there's zero chance of little fingers pulling him apart ;) I keep saying how much I love amigurumi.... and I do I do! I like LOOKING at it... making it myself is a whole new kettle of popcorn (I'm not a huge fan of single crochet... I'm also very lazy *wink) but TA DA I made something! He stands nearly 30cm high and took me a full day to finish completely as I SUCK at sewing bits together but I managed ;)

You'd never even know it was there!

Today is the day I finally say goodbye to my sewing/craft room.... After a week of sorting/culling/packing and playing extreme tetris our spare room is empty and ready to be turned into a nursery. YAY for having the space for a nursery!! But EXTREME SAD FACE that my little crafting haven has been stored away until we can afford to move someplace bigger. Really I am grateful we even have the space for a nursery and that the spare room is there at all but honestly can you imagine how completely heartbroken I am!?!!! A desk and shelves (well bookcase/shelves) that were once covered in all my scrapbook papers, sewing bits and yarn is now just an empty barren wasteland of boring and waiting to be packed away into the shed to make room for our crib *sniff*

Ok so I'm probably being a little melodramatic about it all... it's not my craft stuff is GONE forever it's just packed up neatly-ish in the top cupboard and this really just means I can take over the kitchen table in the meantime MUWAHAHAHAHA I mean it's not like I ALREADY do that but shhhhhhhhh

And besides... now I can start the really fun part! Turning a reasonably small spare room space into a baby nursery on a less than meagre budget. I have a few ideas but will need to wait til we get the rest of our unit sorted before I can start on it... it kinda looks like a bomb hit it as we're cleaning for an inspection at the moment and thought we'd take the opportunity to do a bit of de-cluttering. Nothing gets a person more motivated to clean than an inspection notice haha! It needed doing anyhow :o) It's just looking at my 'craft room' now, you'd never even know it was there!

Itty Bitty Crocodile Stitch Booties FTW!

When I first found this pattern I thought the crocodile stitch was the hardest crochet stitch in the universe (not blowing it out of proportion or anything of course)... much cursing went on whilst I tried to get my already ache-y brain around it (because when you've had morning sickness and a throbbing headache all day the next obvious step is to try and crochet something DUH) You can probably imagine how uber stupid I felt once it clicked and turned out to be easy peasy WHOOPS! Anyhoo now I've got the hang of it and all is well.... behold my booties! Down right adorable :o) I have to say, of all the bootie patterns I've tried in the past these are the easiest to work up, and easier still once you get the hang of the scales around the top. The V-stitch is fast and simple and this pattern can easily be adjusted to fit any sized foot big or small!

The pattern calls for a 4mm hook but as I was working with baby ply yarn I used a 4.5mm and they should fit 0-3 months. You can find the fabulously free pattern at Lolly's Crafty Crochet and if you search for these on Ravelry you can download the PDF too :o) These will be keeping tiny tootsies warm and toasty come September!

Linked up to

Marshmallow Bassinet Blanket

For today's crochet project, I picked up 7 small balls of lightly pastel coloured soft yarn on special (woohoo!) and worked up this very fluffy bassinet blanket. Thick, cuddly and just the right size for a little person to stay snug under throughout the end of winter and early spring. Excuse the dark photos guys, it's late afternoon and I was just too impatient to wait until tomorrow to share.

As you can see I've been keeping with the giant granny square blanket style lately, and I've just added a simple scalloped edge around the outside. Hard to resist them when they work up so fast! The colours and texture just reminded of marshmallows, so that's what I've called it :o)

 

 

CROCHET ALL THE (BABY) THINGS!

I found some funky variegated yarn at Big W today and decided that our future spawn needs funky jackets :o)

I also found yummy spinach and cheese pasta and five vegie sauce at Woolies as well as Pringles (which I NEEDED at the time) some chocolate milk and a few tubs of mango fruche that I now can't have because the heartburn-from-hell hath returned! *sad face* I'm hoping this means bub will have a full head of hair... that's the deal right?

Re-watching my way through seasons 1 and 2 of Game of Thrones, crochet and the prospect of eating tasty food sometime tonight isn't so bad :o)

Whoopee for $5 balls! ...Of yarn ;o)

Sigh of relief that I was able to skip down Spotlight's yarn aisle on the weekend in 3....2.....1

*Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh*

I may have gone a little over board in the buying of pretty yarn department which is kinda ironic considering last post was about using up scraps in a blanket to make room BUT you get that ;o) Awwww c'mon, it was Spotlight!!!! I had a voucher!!! What else was I gonna buy?! I really wish there was a Spotlight here in Armidale *sigh* although maybe it's a good thing there isn't, or I'd be even more broke than usual.
Anyhoo today I used a super dooper huge ball of white pure wool (on sale for $5!) to make a newborn sized crochet jacket for Baby Shmoogle Bean which will hopefully soon have a little pair of booties and a bonnet to match...and I started knitting myself a scarf out of some SERIOUSLY gorgeous European yarn. You don't even want to know how many scarves I've started these past few weeks haha I may even finish one for winter in a month or two yet, you never know!

Definately keep an eye out for more crochet (and maybe even sewn) baby things in the coming weeks! I am loving it :o)

Scraps Crochet Baby Blanket in Progress

The newborn quirky bean baby hat!

 

 

 

Newborn quirky bean baby hat pattern:

In pink....
Magic ring, ch 2.
Round 1: 9 dc into ring. Sl st to top of first dc to join (and throughout), ch 2
Round 2: 2 dc in each st around. Sl st to join, ch 2
Round 3 and 4: 1 dc in each st around. Sl st to join.

Change to green....
Round 5: Ch2, 1 dc in each st around. Sl st to join.

Change to pink...
Round 6 and 7: Ch 2, 1 dc in each st around. Sl st to join.

Change to green...
Round 8: Ch 2, 1 dc in next st, 2 dc in next st. *1 dc in each of next 2 sts, 2 dc in next st* around. Sl st to join.

Change to pink...
Round 9: Ch 2, 1 dc in each of next 2 sts, 2 dc in next. *1 dc in each of next 3 sts, 2 dc in next st* around. Sl st to join.
Round 10: Ch 2, 1 dc in each st around.

Change to green....
Round 11: Ch 2, 1 dc in each of next 3 sts, 2 dc in next st. *1 dc in each of next 4 sts, 2 dc in next st* around. Sl st to join.
Round 12: Ch 2, 1 dc in each st around.

Change to pink...
Round 13: Ch 2, 1 dc in each st around.
Round 14: Ch 2, 1 dc in each of next 4 sts, 2 dc in next st. *1 dc in each of next 5 sts, 2 dc in next st* around. Sl st to join.
Round 15: Ch 2, 1 dc in each of next 5 sts, 2 dc in next st. *1 dc in each of next 6 sts, 2 dc in next st* around. Sl st to join.

Change to green...
Round 16: Ch 2, 1 dc in each st around. Sl st to join. Fasten off.

Weave a pink ribbon through bottom dcs and tie a bow in the front.... I kinda just made it up as I went, I'll be using it as a photo prop but it would make a cute baby shower gift...it's kinda an elf hat and kinda not ^.^ Anyhoo enjoy! Any questions, as always please ask away! It was honestly a spur of the moment creation so if there is a problem in the pattern let me know and I shall right the wrongs :o)

P.s For personal use only. Pattern not to be copied/reproduced. Finished project not to be sold. You can pin the pattern, and you can link to it on your blog etc but if you do please email me and let me know :o)

Baby Bird Crochet Hat Pattern 6-12 months

*Revised with new photos! No more crummy phone camera images!*

Materials
2 coloured balls of yarn for your hat, I am using a pale yellow and purple
a yarn needle for weaving in ends and sewing
scissors
a 5.00mm crochet hook
a small amount of white yarn for the eyes
a small amount of yellow yarn for the beak
two small buttons for eyes!

For the hat
Start with a magic circle, then 6 hdc into the centre of the ring. Join with a sl st into first st. Ch 1
Round 1
Hdc into same st then 2 hdc into each st around. Sl st into top of first st to join.
Round 2
Ch 1, hdc into same st, then 1 hdc into next st. *2 hdc in next st, one hdc in next* around. Join.
Round 3
Ch 1, hdc into same st, 1 hdc in next 2 sts. *2 hdc in same st, 1 hdc in next two sts*  around. Join
Round 4
Ch 1, hdc into same st, 1 hdc in next 3 sts. *2 hdc in same st, 1 hdc in next three sts* around. Join
Round 5
Ch 1, hdc into same st, 1 hdc in next 4 sts. * 2 hdc in same st, 1 hdc in next four sts* around  Sl st to join.
Round 6
Ch 1, hdc into same st, 1 hdc in next 5 sts. *2 hdc in same st, 1 hdc in next five sts* around.  Join
Round 7
Ch 1, hdc into same st, 1 hdc in next 6 sts. *2 hdc in same st, 1 hdc in next six sts*  around. Join
Round 8
Ch 1, hdc into same st, 1 hdc in next 7 sts. *2 hdc in same st, 1 hdc in next seven sts*  around. Join, finish off.

What you will have at the end of round 8

 Join second colour for hat in any stitch. Ch 1
Rounds 9 through 15
*1 hdc in every st around* Join. DO NOT tie off

Earflap 1
Ch 1, hdc across 14 sts. Ch 1, turn.
Skip next st, hdc across 12 sts. Ch 1, turn.
Skip next st, hdc across 10 sts. Ch 1, turn.
Skip next st, hdc across 8 sts. Ch 1, turn.
Skip next st, hdc across 6 sts. Ch 1, turn.
Skip next st, hdc across 4 sts. Finish off.

To start second earflap, count across 10 sts and join yarn.

Earflap 2
For second earflap, count 10 sts from first earflap and join yarn in 10th stitch.
Ch 1, hdc across 14 sts. Ch 1, turn.
Skip next st, hdc across 12 sts. Ch 1, turn.
Skip next st, hdc across 10 sts. Ch 1, turn.
Skip next st, hdc across 8 sts. Ch 1, turn.
Skip next st, hdc across 6 sts. Ch 1, turn.
Skip next st, hdc across 4 sts. Finish off.

Finishing the hat
Take your first colour and sc all the way around the bottom of your hat. Weave in all your ends.

For the tassles
Cut 10 x 60cm lengths of yarn in each colour. Seperate the yarn into two halves. With your first bundle of yarn, attach them to the earflaps as shown.

Place crochet hook through the middle hdc on the bottom of one earflap from UNDER the earflap

Fold your first lot of yarn in half over the crochet hook and pull taut. Pull hook through stitch to create a loop 

Bring the tail through the loop and pull gently to secure. 

Braid the yarn and use a small piece of yarn to tie it off at the bottom. Repeat on the other side.

For the eyes
Take your white yarn and crochet hook and make a magic circle. Work 10 hdc into the ring and join with a sl st. Ch 1 and hdc into same st. Then work 2 hdc into each st around, joining with a sl st at the beginning st to join. On the next round, Ch 1, hdc into same st *1 hdc in the next st, 2hdc in the same st,* repeat til end of round. Finish off leaving a long tail for sewing. Repeat for the second eye.

For the beak
Magic circle, dc, 2 hdc, sc, ch 1, sc, 2 hdc, dc into ring. Pull ring closed tightly, sl st into ring to close. Finish off leaving a tail for sewing.
Arrange your eyes and beak onto hat and sew into place. Sew on buttons.

Done! 

I hope you enjoy working on this cute pattern! The best thing is you can make it for girls and boys and the pattern is easily adjusted to fit younger or older children (or even adult size!). If you have any questions, just ask and I'll get back to you when I can!

You're welcome to sell items made from this tutorial, I would appreciate a link back to here though if you'd be so kind..Please do not print then redistribute this pattern; you may not copy this pattern to another site without my permission; pattern is not to be copied/altered/partially reproduced in any way. Photos are all property of The Quirky Crafting Shmoogle Bean.